Monday, 24 August 2015

Monday Moanings - August 24, 2015

The Last Days of Summer

I had to drag myself away from this idyllic place this morning. My feet moved slowly. My backside yearned to be tucked into one of those chairs at the end the dock. But alas my both my backside and I had to settle for the cushy driver's seat of my car. And here I am back at the desk in my kitchen tapping out a "Monday Moaning".

It seems almost treasonous to moan about anything on an August day such as this. When I awoke this morning the light of the great day star sparkled and glistened in the puddles and droplets leftover from the night's showers. A warm breeze wafted in off the lake; the loons and ducks chattered back and forth with each other.

Back at home things were not all that bad either. I took my lunch out onto our deck. Though there was no lake in sight, no sounds of lapping wavelets along a rocky shore, there was no shortage of delights. I watched blue jays sweep in and out of the tray feeder, hummingbirds buzz in and out stopping just for a moment to sip some nectar, chickadees and nuthatches. The distant hum of highway traffic offered up a steady bass line while crickets kept up a staccato chirp. The neighbourhood dogs barked in sequence along the street as a cyclist whizzed by. And every now and then the breeze picked up the baton and conducted the leaves, still mostly thick and green, in a soothing chorus of rustling chatter.

While I happily admit that autumn is my favourite season, summer offers unique joys that I never want to miss, like my lunch on a deck bathed in sunlight and warmth; like a brief getaway to a lakeside cottage; like biting into fresh local corn on the cob, hot from the coals and dripping with butter (or even bacon wrapped!), or slurping a juicy bite of a Niagara peach.